How to Make Fish Aquarium Decor
Designing a freshwater aquarium aquascape doesn't have to be a daunting or expensive task. In fact it can be accomplished for next to nothing if you know where to look. This article will cover all the basics of aquascaping a freshwater aquarium to achieve the most natural look possible. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- River rock Driftwood Large rocks 5 gallon bucket Black spray paint (optional) Painters tape (also optional) Newspaper (optional)
Instructions
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Clean the tank thoroughly. If you want to avoid using one of those cheap aquarium backgrounds that always end up falling off anyway, spray paint is the best option.
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Spread the newspaper in an area that is safe to paint in. Place the aquarium onto the newspaper.
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Tape off the sides of the aquarium with the painters tape and newspaper to prevent over spray.
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Paint the back of the aquarium using even strokes until it becomes opaque when viewing through the front panel. Let it dry thoroughly. Once dried relocate the aquarium to the stand.
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Place river rock in the 5-gallon bucket and fill with water till overflowing. Stir the rocks to help remove any sediment which might be held up in the bottom. Let the water run until it runs clean to make sure that the rocks are clean.
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Carefully place the rocks into the bottom of the aquarium until the bottom has at least 2 inches of substrate.
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Wash your larger rocks in fresh water.
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Arrange your large rocks in whatever style you like according to your taste. The more natural looking the better normally. Try to make many caves available as most fish prefer to have some sort of refuge. This is also the time when you will place your driftwood in the tank. Use the large rocks to help hold it in place. I will also note that the driftwood should be soaked in advance to help fill it with water. Doing so will help combat it floating.
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Tips & Warnings
The substrate for the bottom of the tank can be acquired at any hardware store in 25 or 50 pound bags for under 5 dollars, which is quite a deal considering that 5 pounds of the same rock at an aquarium store can run $5 to $10. This is the cheapest route to setting up your natural aquarium. The large rocks can be found anywhere. A river, a seashore and old ballast dumps are excellent places to find rocks of this nature. Driftwood can be found along rivers and beaches. It can also be ordered from the internet. Another trick that can be done with driftwood is using a hot glue gun to glue it to pieces of flat stone such as slate. This will help keep the driftwood down and the flat stone is easily covered with the river rock.
Large rocks can easily damage or break an aquarium so exercise caution when putting them in the tank.
